The present invention relates to an electrical connector provided with a moving plate and a retainer.
One example of a conventional connector provided with a moving plate and a retainer is described in JP-9-219235. In this connector, a hood protrudes towards the anterior from a connector housing. Tabs of male terminal fittings that have been inserted into the connector housing protrude into the hood. These tabs are fitted into position fixing holes formed within a moving plate that is provided, in a manner whereby it can be moved, within the hood. The retainer is inserted into the connector housing and retains the terminal fittings.
In this connector, the retainer is a side retainer, i.e., it is attached to the connector housing from a side face thereof. This type of retainer has the following problem. When a connector is provided with a retainer, the retainer is generally placed in a temporary retaining position which allows the terminal fittings to be inserted into or removed from the connector housing. The connector is transported to the site where the terminal fittings will be attached while the retainer is in this temporary retaining position. At the site, the terminal fittings are inserted into the connector housing, then the retainer is pushed in to a main retaining position, this preventing the terminal fittings from being removed.
The retainer which is in the temporary retaining position protrudes from an outer side face of the connector housing. Consequently, there is a risk that other components may strike against the retainer while the connector is being transported to the attaching site, this pushing the retainer into the main retaining position. If this occurs, the retainer must be pulled out again to the temporary retaining position when it is at the attachment site, thus resulting in extra work.
In order to deal with this problem, the retainer may be fitted from the anterior into the hood of the connector housing, facing towards an innermost face thereof. If the retainer is attached from the anterior, the retainer will be surrounded by the hood even if it protrudes from an anterior end face of the connector housing while it is in the temporary retaining position. Consequently, other components will not strike against the retainer while it is in this protruding state, and the retainer will not be pushed into the main retaining position.
However, conventional connectors have the moving plate located at the anterior of the connector housing. This presence of this moving plate prevents the retainer from being attached from the anterior of the connector housing.
The present invention has taken the above problem into consideration and, in a connector having a moving plate provided within a hood of a connector housing, it aims to allow a retainer to be attached to the connector housing from the anterior.
According to the invention there is provided an electrical connector comprising a housing having a hood protruding at the anterior side in the connection direction thereof, terminal fittings insertable into said housing from the posterior side to protrude into said hood, a movable plate within said hood and adapted for movement in an anterior/posterior direction, said plate having holes through which said fittings protrude in use, and a retainer movable in said housing to retain terminal fittings therein, characterized in that said housing includes a retainer attachment opening in the anterior side thereof at the innermost face of said hood, and a window is provided in said movable plate to permit insertion of said retainer therethrough.
This arrangement permits a retainer to be placed in a protected waiting position in which inadvertent movement to the retained position is unlikely.
In a preferred embodiment the window permits through movement of the retainer from the anterior to the posterior, thus facilitating independent movement of retainer and movable plate.
Preferably the hood is circumferentially continuous and is adapted for guiding a movable plate having flat plate-like base and a continuous upstanding wall. A sealing member is preferably provided on the outer and inner surfaces of said wall so as to provide waterproofing from the inner side of said hood to the outer surface of the corresponding connector which is inserted therein.